THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
The Ben Folds Five Digest
Issue #146 - October 8, 1996
THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR, Issue #146
[Due to the volume of posts, I've split this issue into two parts. The
second part will be sent as Issue #147. -fjm]
REMINDERS:
* Change the subject of your reply to something pertaining to your
message (not "The Magical Armchair, Issue #nnn").
* Don't quote excessively, or quote the entire digest, when replying.
* Please keep non-Ben Folds Five content to a minimum.
Topics for Today:
Jonesing for quirky pop?
Re: Fixin' To Slander "The Suits" Rag
What is CMJ?
The Baldwin Sale
taping equipment
CD Now T-Shirt
Re: import cds
BF
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Date: Fri, 4 Oct 1996 21:18:20 -0400
From: Rahoolio@aol.com
Subject: Jonesing for quirky pop?
Ha!!! I KNEW the Armchair was probably trailing in its wake a few fans of
the late, great Love Jones. Anyone who ever got a kick out of those
guys--and/or Ben Folds Five--might want to check out the Legendary Jim Ruiz
Group, who put across a loungey vibe like LJ, but with the scrappier
production values of BF5. Look for their CD "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou," if
your interest has been piqued.
And to the subscriber who asked about "Dumped," remember that Frank has
done a great job of keeping Ben's discography up-to-date on his web
page--but, for now, be advised that "Song For The Dumped" is on the
soundtrack of "Mr. Wrong." For the record, it's not as consistent a
soundtrack as "The Truth About Cats and Dogs," which contains "Bad
Idea"--which many BF5 concertgoers probably recognize as "Retarded." For
these and other various and sundry tracks, consult Frank's BF5 web page...see
you in the mosh pit...
==============================================================================
Date: Fri, 4 Oct 1996 23:51:02 -0400
From: Wri10@aol.com
Subject: Re: Fixin' To Slander "The Suits" Rag
Fellow "Arm(chair)ed",
The "bootleg" has a (reasonably) honorable heritage; those of us who've been
rock fans a while surely recall, mayhap own, some pet artist's work recorded
live (perhaps on the sly) and released to "fandom" as an erstwhile public
service...
This isn't an irrelevant digression -- remember Cheap Trick? There was a
vinyl, band-approved bootleg from the "At Budokan" gigs called "Samurai Rock
Band", traded hotly at record shows for years. It contained some truly hip
songs or live versions Epic (namely "The Suits") wasn't willing to release
because they were obscure, risque or merely old. Anybody who admires a band
beyond reason is DYING to hear the obscure, risque and old... sometimes
ESPECIALLY that.
I paid seven bucks for my vinyl copy of "Samurai"; nobody could possibly have
made much green off it. I wouldn't have paid a cent more. When "Budokan II"
and the 20th anniversary box-set came out recently (selections made via
popular demand or the band, NOT The Suits), most of the songs were included
from the (in)famous boot -- better cuts for many reasons than those Epic
originally chose for "Budokan". They're still nifty little numbers after all
these years. I'm thrilled to have them, however I got them.
Reality check -- record companies are loath to cut a live release until a
band has two or three "successful" studio albums under its belt. When they
do, it's often not the "good stuff" but the hits that are included. Not much
better than Procter & Gamble there -- but who ever said record companies were
in it for OUR benefit?
I'd be thrilled to have a live copy of "Song For The Dumped". I'm not sure
any Suit in his/her right mind would put the version I heard in Cinci on any
live OR studio release. It's a great memory, a real bone-warmer from a
twenty-below night -- but hardly a million-seller. I'll never forget, guess
that's the point. There are "great things" The Suits are NEVER going to get,
let alone release... whence bootlegs.
I adamantly agree with the imprecation "long as you're not making money off
it." Seems cheesy to make money off a band you admire if you're not on the
payroll. Tape cost plus postage sounds fair; apparently "our" guys say so in
this case. Many bands with an offbeat sense of humor and/or a flair for
non-sequitur have said so over the years. If The Suits ain't gonna give it
to us (for whatever reason), why shouldn't we share at a fair price among us?
Why feel guilty about having something you may never see (hear) any other
way?
MA.
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Date: Sat, 5 Oct 1996 14:11:54 +1000 (EST)
From: tc@enternet.com.au
Subject: What is CMJ?
Excuse my ignorance, but what is CMJ and how come so many of you found out
about BFF on it. Is it a radio station? Here in Sydney (Australia, for
those who don't excel in geography) we discovered BFF when the radio station
JJJ played "Underground". Needless to say it was an instant success amongst
me and my friends, particularly one (hi callantha), so we went in search of
the album. Once we found it, (it took about three weeks) we never looked
back. Now I try and play the album to as many people as possible, although
I am slowly learning that trying to enlighten people about great music like
BFF can be a very frustrating process. (Yes, there are some people worth
knowing who don't yet know about BFF)
Is there anyone else in Australia who reads the armchair? If so, make
yourself known people.
Bye
tom f
[Tom: CMJ is a monthly magazine that used to be largely for college
radio stations - I believe it stands for "College Media Journal" - but is
now sold by subscription and at newsstands. Each issue contains scores of
album reviews and comes with a CD containing around 20 tracks, featuring
mostly new, undiscovered or underappreciated bands. "Underground" was
included on the CD about a year ago. And yes, there are other Australians
on the list - at least 23 with .au domains and probably more. -fjm]
==============================================================================
Date: Sat, 5 Oct 1996 01:01:50 -0400
From: PowerVegan@aol.com
Subject: The Baldwin Sale
This is only tenuously on-topic, but...
So I was bicycling home from MusicMakers today after buying a new sustain
pedal (Ben is a bad influence -- I broke my last one after using it too
aggressively), and as I'm passing City Coliseum I see that the marquee says
"Baldwin Piano Sale", and there's a huge Baldwin semi in the parking lot with
a painting of a piano on it. As avid fans of BF5 know, Ben plays a Baldwin
for their live shows (although he's got a 1930 Steinway in his living room
for recording the next album). So, how can I not stop in at a sale held by
the manufacturer of the instrument played by my idol?
I figured I was going to just get to cruise around the floor and try out the
dozens of different pianos, but to my dismay I was assigned a salesperson as
soon as I walked in who escorted me around and kept giving me a sales pitch.
One of the first things I said to her was, "You know, Ben Folds plays a
Baldwin." She paused for several milliseconds and then said, "Many famous
musicians play Baldwins." She had obviously never heard of Ben Folds Five.
I tried out a few models, discovered that the cheapest upright they had that
didn't sound like crap cost $6,000, showed the salesperson the BF5 stick
grand tattoo on my arm, and split. Heck, my Roland synthesizer's piano
programs sound better than most of those uprights.
So that's the Baldwin piano sale story.
-- Michael Bluejay (Austin, TX)
==============================================================================
Date: Sat, 05 Oct 1996 09:46:48 -0400
From: sgilmour@pgh.net
Subject: taping equipment
Earthy Rock wrote:
>Hey people,
>
> What I wanna know is, how do you make a good quality bootleg of a
>show? Like everyone has these bootlegs of gigs, but never say exactly what
>recording things they're using and stuff!!! Any ideas? The micro-recorders
>seem a little lame, but who knows...
>
>Ad.
Well it's much more than a micro cassette recorder. Most people who are
taping these days are using portable DAT decks, this is the best quality
you can get. Digital Audio Tape decks that run on batteries. There are
many popular brands around and those decks usually run anywhere between
$1500 and $800. For those who can't afford DAT the next step down are
portable analog decks (regular cassettes) around that run right around
$400 to $800 range, they also run on batteries.
Now what happens when bands allow taping is that you will be allowed to
bring your equipment in to a show and set up somewhere near the
soundboard, which is where the sound usually sounds the best. Now, if I'm
not patching into the soundboard I will bring mics with me and put them up
on a stand that reaches high enough into the air to allow for clearance
above the board. I use Sennheiser ME-80 shotgun mics and a Sony TC-D5
analog deck to record all my shows.
There are lots of other rigs that people use to tape shows that don't
allow taping. That kind of equipment is called a stealth rig. And it
usually involves mics that are clipped to a hat or onto glasses and a deck
that is easilly concealable in a jacket pocket. I don't know much about
these rigs because I don't own one and don't tape at shows that don't
allow it.
Hope this helps with any questions you had. If not E-mail me personally
and I'll try to help you further.
--
Later,
Shaun
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shaun Gilmour
sgilmour@pgh.net
==============================================================================
Date: 05 Oct 96 09:42:35 EDT
From: noreen specht <76232.1433@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: CD Now T-Shirt
I visited the CD Now web page and orderd the Ben Folds Five T-shirt. Now,
they don't have a picture on it, but I took my chances anyway. Be warned:
It's got these red ringer things on the collar and sleeves which sort of
hint that the shirt might be sort of on the femine side. It's also got a
big middle finger pointing up in the center of it.
Oh well.
James Specht
==============================================================================
Date: Sat, 5 Oct 1996 13:30:19 -0400 (EDT)
From: Lesley Long <lesleyl@bgnet.bgsu.edu>
Subject: Re: import cds
if a live version of "video killed the radio star" is on a single for
underground PLEASE let me know!! being a child of the 80's i was
thrilled when i heard it for the first time at the concert. waiting
anxiously for a reply...
lesley long :]
==============================================================================
Date: Sat, 5 Oct 1996 16:55:34 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Victor C. Kreuiter" <kwollo@ezl.com>
Subject: BF
BF5 fans:
Concerning live recordings:
The sad thing about them is that the artists receive no remuneration. End
of story. Everyone who collects knows some recordings, fun to own, are
really not worth listening to; but EVERY fan of ANY artist knows that a
LIVE recording is what drives them to buy the artists' catalogs.
For myself, one "gamble" to see a band called The Ben Folds Five led to
driving the next day to purchase the CD. End of story. They were THAT good.
Don't beat yourself up over DESIRING the BF5 sound. Christ, they were
great.
Also, don't beat BF5 up when they hit. I walked out after the show and said
to friends, "These guys are going to be big."
I'm 46, and a grandfather, and I still haunt the clubs looking for REAL
musicians, and when I paid $5 to see BF5 it was like winning the lottery.
So remember, the band is going to change. They might even produce a dud.
(Hell, I really can't imagine that happening, but you know, The Muse
doesn't always pick up the phone.) But it IS endlessly fascinating to
listen to follow the churning of Rock and Roll and see what it produces.
Call your folks on the weekend and say hello.
Peace, Love, and Bell-Bottoms
Vic
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